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The Secret History of King Arthur and Robin Hood.
Most historians place the Arthurian period in the fifth century
AD, and so this is where I began my historical journey to find
the 'real Arthur'.
In about 402 AD, Stilicho, the Vandal Regent of Rome, needed the
remainder of his troops back in Rome to defend the homeland
against the invading Goths. This left Britain militarily
vulnerable and weak, and by 410 the Anglo-Saxons were mounting a
terrible invasion that set the countryside alight. But why did
the Saxons delay their invasion? The answer lies within the
extremely clever way the Romans had previously cleared the
country of what they called 'barbarians' - i.e. those people who
would have either utilized inside intelligence to assist any
invading force or who would have undermined the existing rule.
'Britain was near to death until Stilicho arrived, and that with
the Saxons defeated, the seas were safer and the Picts were
broken, thereby making Britain secure.'
So wrote the early Christian poet and historian, Claudian, in
399 AD.
Britain enjoyed a brief time of relevant peace. This peace was
shattered violently as the Saxons instigated their bloody
onslaught in the summer of 410. By winter, the British
'civitates' had simply had enough of their Roman pretender,
Constantine III, and the old Roman system, and so they decided
to go it alone. However, the British message to the Emperor
Honorius left open a small in-road just in case they were making
a mistake. Britain wanted to stay in the Roman Empire, not as
subjects but as allies aiding each other with trade and defence.
So Britain became an autonomous state within the Empire,
especially after the sacking of Rome by Alaric's Goths in 410.
This balance of power continued, and in 417 AD the units of
Comes Brittaniarum partially reoccupied the Saxon forts along
the south-east coast. This British force was influenced by the
Scythian warrior-lite who had been brought to Britain by the
Romans. These Scythians also brought many of the serpent related
traditions I had previously found associated with Arthur in The
Serpent Grail - including the worship of Uther/Zeus and the
plunging of the blood soaked sword into and out of the ground as
an offering to the Earth Goddess.
Following the death of Honorius the Roman army vanished from
Britain. The exact date of their departure is not known,
although Nennius, the eighth-century Christian historian, tells
us that Vortigern had become King of Britain by 425 AD. This
probably referred to the southern regions and those parts of
Britain previously held by the Romans. Vortigern, it seems,
filled the void that Rome had left behind.
The Historia Brittonium states that it was Vortigern who invited
Hengist and Horsa, the Norse warriors, to settle in Kent, only
to later argue and fight against them. The old system of Roman
rule finally began to crumble.
Vortigern's answer to his new Norse problem was to invite yet
more foreigners to settle in the country, creating for them
settlements called foederati. Was this wise council on
Vortigern's part? It may just have been his only answer, and a
Roman answer at that, for the Romans had utilized this
settlement procedure themselves - albeit with a lot more class.
The Romans had also been powerful enough to keep these
settlements under control, and had more incentives to offer them
in exchange for their loyalty, whereas Vortigern had no other
choice and the new found settlers knew this.
Word then reached Vortigern that the Picts and Scots were
massing on the borders, and he simply did not have the power to
repel them. His tactic was again Roman: bring in other
Barbarians and get them to fight each other. It seems, however,
that rather than settling warrior Barbarians on his coastlines
in order to protect Britain, Vortigern opened the floodgates to
the land-hungry Saxons. Vortigern was defeated by Hengist in
455, the lowlands were put to the fire and the Britons fled the
country, heading for Spain and Armorica. The economy collapsed,
and by 461 Vortigern the Great was dead.
There was a recovery of British fortunes a decade or so later,
when Ambrosius Aurelianus, thought to be the son of a Roman
consul, fought against the Saxons.
These same traditions and texts then tell us of a great King
called Arthur.
This history of the fifth-century Britons is interesting, but
only partially of interest in our search for the Grail. The
Romans had brought the Scythians to Britain, and these Scythians
also brought with them their cultural belief systems. They
fought well, and in all probability, aided the Britons with
training in their warrior ways.
The memory of these cultural additions seeped into the British
consciousness and became British, Celtic, and eventually 'New
Age'. This very real struggle for power and for the defence of
the realm was an ideal backdrop to the mystery that is now
called the 'Arthurian cycle'.
Britain in the fifth century was itself a great and wondrous
'mixing-bowl'. Cultures from across the known world travelled to
it. Exports of British copper, lead, tin, and much more were
shipped across Europe and the Mediterranean. Folklore tradition
also tells us that Joseph of Arimathea visited these shores, and
owned tin mines in Cornwall - although this I seriously doubt.
If traditions such as these are far from truth, I had to ask
myself, why were these strange tales invented?
It was now time to move forward historically from the 5th
century history to the medieval period. This was a time when the
true symbolic Arthur was formed. The Arthur who fought with
dragons or serpents; the Arthur who married his Guinevere - the
Queen of Serpents; the Arthur who would have a shape-shifting
father named Uther, another term for Zeus. This was also the
time when another character emerged who was also joined with a
peculiar female counterpart and who materialized from the mists
of history as a mythical hero. This hero was Robin Hood.
Etymologically Robin comes from the Norman 'Robert,' a form of
the Germanic Hrodebert and it originally meant 'famous' or
'bright' or even and more pertinently 'to shine.' This is and
has always been an indication of one who has achieved
illumination or enlightenment.
Robin Hood is therefore the 'Bright Hood,' a similar name to the
Naga serpent worshippers or deities of India, with their
illuminated serpent or cobra hoods. As many have previously
stated there are strong links between the origins of Robin Hood
and the Green Man, who is also the ancient Egyptian god Osiris
and the Greek-Roman god Dionysus/Bacchus, and so we should hope
to find something of interest in the many stories surrounding
this enigmatic character.
It's no surprise to also discover that the Templars are very
much associated with Robin, and many of the tales of Robin also
match in format those of King Arthur. In the popular retelling
by Henry Gilbert (Robin Hood, 1912) we find mention of a
pig-like serpent.
Robin wants to know who the hermit of Fountains Dale is and how
the one named as 'Peter the Doctor' managed to cure people.
"Oh," said Nick with a smile, "I meant no ill-will to Peter.
Often hath his pills cured our villeins when they ate too much
pork, and my mother - rest her soul - said that naught under the
sun was like his lectuary of Saint Evremond."
Peter the Doctor speaks, "I deserve well of all my patients,
but," - and his eyes flashed - "that great swinehead oaf of a
The VoicelessThe Voiceless By Oliver Wendell Holmes 1858 We count the broken lyres that rest Where the sweet wailing singers ..... hermit monk - Tuck by name, and would that I could tuck him in
the deepest, darkest hole in Windleswisp marsh! - That great
ox-brained-beguiled me into telling him of all my good
specifics. With his eyes as wide and soft as a cow's he looked
as innocent as a mawkin, and asked me this and that about the
cures which I had made, and ever he seemed the more to marvel
and to gape at my wisdom and my power. The porcine serpent! He
did but spin his web the closer about me to my own undoing and
destruction. When I had told him all, and was hopeful that he
would buy a phial of serpent's oil of Jasper - a sure and
certain specific, my good freemen, against ague and stiffness."
So Friar Tuck is like a snake-pig and Peter the Wise Doctor
hopes to sell him "serpent oil." It is likely that Gilbert used
the "serpent oil" in the early nineteenth century as this
peculiar substance was quite fashionable at the time and no
matter how hard I searched I could not find Gilbert's source
material.
There are elements of the Robin Hood myth that relate to other
legends. The 'tree of life' is seen as 'Robin's Larder Tree,'
supplying all that could be required like the 'Horn of Plenty'
or the 'cauldron' of Celtic folklore.
Robin's link with the 'Horned God' is also telling as he is Lord
and Master over the human 'animals' of the Forest and they are
guardians of their stolen treasure, like the hoarding, serpent
Nagas of Hinduism. They do good deeds for those who deserve them
and dastardly deeds to those who do not. The horned element is
also telling, as the horns were symbolic of enlightenment or
illumination, just as Moses is often depicted with horns whereas
the meaning is simply 'shining.' We must also remember that
Moses was taught in Egypt, the home of the Green Man Osiris, and
that Moses was the one who raised the Brazen Serpent in the
wilderness to heal the people of Israel.
In the connected tales of Robin Goodfellow, the 'trickster of
the woods' also known as Puck, there is also the link of Sib,
the fairy who lives in the hillside and is linked as being a
'serpent spirit' of healing. Robin falls in love with his lady
of the waters or Queen of Heaven (a title also given to Isis the
sister/wife of Osiris and also a title given to Guinevere) later
to be known as the Maid Marion (Marion/Mary coming from Mer =
Sea/water/wisdom) and in many ways is undermining the new
Christian world that forced itself upon this ancient mixture of
paganism.
Puck incidentally is thought to have a much older pedigree,
being traced back to an Irish Pan-like deity known as Pouka.
Indeed, Robin Goodfellow is said to be born of a human mother
and a god-like father in the form of Oberon (king of the fairies
and Ob meaning serpent.) He is also green like the 'Green Man,'
which is the special healing color attributed to many things
surrounding the serpent cult - such as the Emerald Tablet, the
color of initiation into Gnostic mysteries associated with the
Masons, and the Green Glass of the Grail.
It is believed by many that the crescent shape of Robin's bow
recalls the crescent moon and horns of the pagan 'Horned God,'
as does the horn Robin uses to call his people together. Even
Little John in the tale of Robin Hood and Sir Guy de Gisborne is
tied to a tree, being saved at the last minute by Robin
disguised as Sir Guy. As with most folklore there is symbolism,
myth, legend and probably some element of a real origin.
Robin Hood may well have some aspects of his personality and
acts in real people, but most historians would steer away from
stating anything as fact.
As Fran and Geoff Doel point out in their book Robin Hood:
Outlaw or Greenwood Myth
"the origin of Robin Hood was obscure . . . suggests a
mythological or folklore origin."
What we also find however in some of the earlier tales is that
Robin Hood and Little John - like Jesus and John the Baptist -
were equals. Walter Bower, in the 15th century, said that Robin
Hood together with Little John and their companies rose to
prominence. This in itself points out that both Robin and John
were seen to each have their own followers very much like Jesus
and John. They are therefore and must be the 'twins' of
Gnosticism, like Castor and Pollux - the duality and balance.
Other elements of Robin's life and especially his death show an
ancient link:
"Curiously the ballad of Robin Hood's Death also has a
ritualistic element, with foreknowledge and ritual 'banning' and
a death by bleeding, which is suspiciously close to the
ritualistic dismemberment of other European and Asiatic
Springtime gods and heroes such as Tammuz, Adonis and Osiris.
The cognitive connections between the outlaw and Robin the bird
may be coincidental, but the possibilities of a Greenwood myth
underlying the later outlaw traditions needs to be examined."
(Doel, Robin Hood: Outlaw or Greenwood Myth.)
Tammuz, Adonis and Osiris are vegetation gods of greenness.
Indeed Osiris himself in the Pyramid Texts at Saqqara is called
the 'Great Green' and often appears green skinned as a symbol of
'resurrection and life'. The battle between Osiris and Set seems
all the more familiar now in the struggle that ensues between
Robin and his archrival the Sheriff of Nottingham. Osiris
becomes Horus when resurrected and we find that it is Horus who
is protected by the Wadjet snake - the green snake.
The fact remains that Christianity was stomping all over old
pagan beliefs, rewriting tales that had existed for hundreds of
years. But, as the Christians were destroying cultural history,
there were those who defended it. The Masons of the period in
which Robin Hood grew to popularity were hiding their symbols
and pagan ideas in the framework and masonry of Churches across
Europe. Green Men sprang up in every sacred Christian place.
Strange characters seen hiding in foliage, peeping out like
messengers from the past.
These peculiar and somewhat disturbing images to modern eyes are
none other than the characters from the pagan past - gods and
deities like Herne the 'Horned God' and many other images of
Mother Goddesses. The truth to the past of man's religious
upbringing can still be seen in the stonework of Christian
churches and Cathedrals, in places like Rosslyn Chapel and
Lichfield Cathedral. But not just in the stone. We must also
look to the legends, for as we can see the tales of Robin Hood
are not only linked to the ancient past they are also linked
inextricably to the tales of Arthur and his search for the Holy
Grail with instances like those of the knight Gawain
decapitating the Green Giant and mysterious images of a Green
Knight. It is seen clearly in the fact that the 'plays' of old,
enacted by local people and paraded through streets, have
changed titles across time and location. From the St. George
(also associated with Osiris and who was popularised by the
Knights Templar) play to the Robin Hood and Green Jack, from
Wildman to Green George. The basic story is the same, but the
names change. Our past has been hidden; our Gnostic heritage is
untold; our birthrights stolen by a jealous Church.
About the author:
Philip Gardiner is the Author of The Serpent Grail: The Truth
Behind the Holy Grail, Elixir of Life and Philosopher's Stone.
Also The Shining Ones: The World's Most Powerful Secret Society
Revealed, and the forthcoming Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon's
Temple Revealed. He is a researcher, historian and propaganda
expert based in the UK. He does Tours via www.powerplaces.com
and his websites can be seen at www.gardinerosborn.com, www.ser
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